You know who’s having a great week? Charles Dickens. Well, except for the part where he’s been dead for over 100 years and is probably all gross and smelly. That’s not all that great. But at least everyone has decided to adapt his book Great Expectations for TV all at once like it was required summer reading in Hollywood or something. I bet he’d like that. You know, if he understood the concept of television. Which he wouldn’t. Because of the whole “dead for 100 years” thing. Still, not a bad week all things considered.
The point I’m getting at is that there are two new shows based on his classic book that were announced this week, one produced by Reese Witherspoon for The CW that sounds exactly like you’d expect a Reese Witherspoon version of Great Expectations to sound…
The CW has put in development Expectations, a modern reimagining of Charles Dickens’ classic Great Expectations, which will be executive produced by Reese Witherspoon. Written by feature scribe J. Mills Goodloe, Expectations centers on a small-town girl with big dreams of making it in the city who is quickly disillusioned by the harsh reality of living in San Francisco — until her fortunes unexpectedly turn thanks to an anonymous benefactor.
… and a “sexy” one for ABC.
ABC has put in development Legacy, a drama from feature producer Debra Martin Chase, which is described as a sexy soap and a modern-day twist on the Charles Dickens classic Great Expectations.
I, for one, am very pleased by this news. Between television studios turning classic works of literature into shows, and the recent “everyone is a cop now” trend, it appears to be the perfect time to pitch my gritty, ocean-based crime drama Moby Dick: Whale Cop.
“Coming up after The Voice, the premiere of the new NBC series Moby Dick: Whale Cop, starring Burt Reynolds as Moby Dick. Whatever you do … [shotgun pump] … don’t call him a fish.”
